Sunday's example: Legalising gay marriage in Australia would make Asia see the country as "decadent," according to Australia's agriculture minister, Barnaby Joyce.

Appearing on ABC's Insiders, Joyce added he didn't think Australia should be redefining marriage. "I don't think if you go and pass a piece of legislation and say a diamond is a square makes diamonds squares," he said. "They're two different things."

If Asian countries truly do spend their days thinking about Australian domestic policy and whether it's a little on the nose, here are some other moments they might consider filing under true Aussie "decadence."

1. That time Joyce said expenses incurred attending rugby games were ''official business."

Ah, Rugby League (NRL). Australia's favourite pastime and a venue where much serious business making occurs, or so Aussie politicians seem to believe.

Joyce himself once charged the Australian taxpayer A$4,600 to attend a range of NRL games. He claimed the travel expenses were necessary costs in the conducting of "official business" in the stadium, Fairfax Media reported.

Those games just happened to be among the biggest games of the year — a 2012 State of Origin match and the NRL finals.

2. That time Joyce expensed the cost of attending a wedding as the guest of a billionaire.

In 2011, Australian mining billionaire Gina Rinehart flew Coalition party members Barnaby Joyce, Julie Bishop and Teresa Gambaro to India for the wedding of the granddaughter of her business partner, G.V. Krishna Reddy, Fairfax Media reported.

Although the three hitched a ride over in Rinehart's private jet, they asked Aussie taxpayers to pick up A$12,000 in "overseas study" allowances to cover the flight back.

Tacking on an extra stop in Malaysia during the trip, Joyce wrote in his expense report that "My study period in this country was only of one day's duration, but it was of great assistance in familiarising myself with Malaysia," according to the newspaper.

3. When the Human Rights Commissioner spent almost A$15,000 on taxis.

As luck would have it, on the same day Joyce went on the ABC to declare gay marriage a decadence, reports in Fairfax Media indicated the Coalition's choice of Human Rights Commissioner, Tim Wilson, had racked up A$77,763 in expenses in 12 months.

While LGBTQ campaigners work for human rights from their living room, the Human Rights Commissioner spent around A$26,000 on domestic airfares, A$17,800 for meals and A$14,562 on cab fares.

"You'd rather I sit in my office all day?" was Wilson's response when contacted by the newspaper for comment.

4. That time George Brandis charged Australians for a copy of Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot.

Australia's attorney general, George Brandis, has always been a prolific reader. And all those books must necessarily have a nice mahogany home.

In 2013, Fairfax Media reported that Brandis had spent A$7,000 on a fancy bookcase that was intended to store over A$13,000 worth of books and other publications — the bill for which the Australian public had the pleasure of paying. In a nice touch, the shelves ended up being too big to move into his new office once his party won power that same year.

Showing tastes that some might call "decadent" or at least "posh," Brandis has also charged Aussies for a copy of Great Operas: A Guide to Twenty Five of the World's Finest Musical Experiences, according to the Guardian.

5. That time Tony Abbott made Aussies foot the bill so he could participate in an Ironman competition.

When the idea of being prime minister was merely a twinkle in his eye, Abbott expensed A$349 in travel allowance and A$941 for flights to travel to Port Macquarie in 2011 to compete in an Ironman sporting event, ABC News reported.

In a double crime against the Australian public, not only were questionable costs racked up, we were once again forced to see the man in speedos.

As Joyce himself put it on Sunday: "In life, everybody doesn't get everything they want."

Mashable
is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company. Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe.